500 Error Suddenly On Previously Working Site Topic is solved

[billbach]

Something has gone awry on one of the sites I manage. I'm no Joomla expert, and just consider myself a basic user, so I'm a bit out of my depth right now and need a pointer on where to start. Both the main and admin sites report a Red 500 error (FPA output follows), indicating a problem with access to MySQLi, but nothing should have changed therein (unless somehow it got left exposed and has been hacked somehow). Can anyone advise on where to start to fix this? I do have the Akeeba Backup file from last quarter, but if I needed to use them, would also need a step-by-step guide on the restore.

Joomla! Instance :: Joomla! 4.3.1-Stable (Bora) 2-May-2023
Joomla! Configured :: Yes | Writable (644) |
Configuration Options :: Offline: false | SEF: true | SEF Suffix: false | SEF ReWrite: false | .htaccess/web.config: No | GZip: false | Cache: false | CacheTime: 15 | CacheHandler: file | CachePlatformPrefix: false | FTP Layer: N/A | Proxy: false | LiveSite: | Session lifetime: 15 | Session handler: database | Shared sessions: false | SSL: 0 | Error Reporting: maximum | Site Debug: true | Language Debug: false | Default Access: Public | Unicode Slugs: false | dbConnection Type: mysqli | PHP Supports J! 4.3.1: Yes | Database Supports J! 4.3.1: Unknown | Database Credentials Present: Yes |

Host Configuration :: OS: Linux | OS Version: 5.10.0-21-amd64 | Technology: x86_64 | Web Server: Apache | Encoding: gzip, deflate | System TMP Writable: Yes | Free Disk Space : 8.82 GiB |

PHP Configuration :: Version: 8.1.16 | PHP API: fpm-fcgi | Session Path Writable: Yes | Display Errors: 0 | Error Reporting: 22527 | Log Errors To: | Last Known Error: | Register Globals: | Magic Quotes: | Safe Mode: | Allow url fopen: 1 | Open Base: | Uploads: 1 | Max. Upload Size: 80M | Max. POST Size: 80M | Max. Input Time: 60 | Max. Execution Time: 30 | Memory Limit: 256M

Database Configuration :: Connection Error: 1045:Access denied for user 'joomla'@'localhost' (using password: YES)User Privileges : Unknown

PHP Extensions :: Core (8.1.16) | date (8.1.16) | libxml (8.1.16) | openssl (8.1.16) | pcre (8.1.16) | sqlite3 (8.1.16) | zlib (8.1.16) | bcmath (8.1.16) | bz2 (8.1.16) | calendar (8.1.16) | ctype (8.1.16) | curl (8.1.16) | dom (20031129) | hash (8.1.16) | fileinfo (8.1.16) | filter (8.1.16) | ftp (8.1.16) | gd (8.1.16) | gettext (8.1.16) | gmp (8.1.16) | json (8.1.16) | iconv (8.1.16) | intl (8.1.16) | SPL (8.1.16) | ldap (8.1.16) | mbstring (8.1.16) | session (8.1.16) | standard (8.1.16) | pcntl (8.1.16) | exif (8.1.16) | mysqlnd (mysqlnd 8.1.16) | PDO (8.1.16) | pdo_mysql (8.1.16) | pdo_sqlite (8.1.16) | Phar (8.1.16) | posix (8.1.16) | readline (8.1.16) | Reflection (8.1.16) | mysqli (8.1.16) | SimpleXML (8.1.16) | soap (8.1.16) | sockets (8.1.16) | sodium (8.1.16) | tidy (8.1.16) | tokenizer (8.1.16) | xml (8.1.16) | xmlreader (8.1.16) | xmlwriter (8.1.16) | xsl (8.1.16) | zip (1.19.5) | cgi-fcgi (8.1.16) | Zend OPcache (8.1.16) | Zend Engine (4.1.16) |
Potential Missing Extensions ::

Switch User Environment :: PHP CGI: Yes | Server SU: No | PHP SU: Yes | Potential Ownership Issues: Maybe

Core Folders :: images/ (777) | components/ (777) | modules/ (777) | plugins/ (777) | language/ (777) | templates/ (777) | cache/ (777) | logs/ (777) | tmp/ (777) | administrator/components/ (777) | administrator/modules/ (777) | administrator/language/ (777) | administrator/templates/ (777) | administrator/logs/ (777) | api/ (777) |

Elevated Permissions (First 10) :: components/ (777) | components/com_ajax/ (777) | components/com_contenthistory/ (777) | components/com_contenthistory/src/ (777) | components/com_contenthistory/src/Controller/ (777) | components/com_contenthistory/src/Dispatcher/ (777) | components/com_privacy/ (777) | components/com_privacy/tmpl/ (777) | components/com_privacy/tmpl/confirm/ (777) | components/com_privacy/tmpl/request/ (777) |

Components :: Site ::
Core ::
3rd Party::

Components :: Admin ::
Core :: com_ajax (4.0.0) ? | com_workflow (4.0.0) ? | com_contenthistory (4.0.0) ? | com_privacy (3.9.0) ? | com_login (4.0.0) ? | com_scheduler (4.1.0) ? | com_config (4.0.0) ? | com_redirect (4.0.0) ? | com_fields (4.0.0) ? | com_associations (4.0.0) ? | com_templates (4.0.0) ? | com_banners (4.0.0) ? | com_guidedtours (4.3.0) ? | com_languages (4.0.0) ? | com_modules (4.0.0) ? | com_mails (4.0.0) ? | com_cache (4.0.0) ? | com_users (4.0.0) ? | com_checkin (4.0.0) ? | com_joomlaupdate (4.0.3) ? | com_finder (4.0.0) ? | com_newsfeeds (4.0.0) ? | com_admin (4.0.0) ? | com_tags (4.0.0) ? | com_actionlogs (3.9.0) ? | com_installer (4.0.0) ? | com_wrapper (4.0.0) ? | com_media (3.0.0) ? | com_menus (4.0.0) ? | com_content (4.0.0) ? | com_plugins (4.0.0) ? | com_messages (4.0.0) ? | com_categories (4.0.0) ? | com_cpanel (4.0.0) ? | com_postinstall (4.0.0) ? |
3rd Party:: com_akeebabackup (9.6.0) ? |

Modules :: Site ::
Core :: mod_custom (3.0.0) ? | mod_menu (3.0.0) ? | mod_breadcrumbs (3.0.0) ? | mod_languages (3.5.0) ? | mod_syndicate (3.0.0) ? | mod_users_latest (3.0.0) ? | mod_feed (3.0.0) ? | mod_articles_popular (3.0.0) ? | mod_articles_categories (3.0.0) ? | mod_tags_popular (3.1.0) ? | mod_tags_similar (3.1.0) ? | mod_footer (3.0.0) ? | mod_articles_category (3.0.0) ? | mod_banners (3.0.0) ? | mod_random_image (3.0.0) ? | mod_login (3.0.0) ? | mod_articles_archive (3.0.0) ? | mod_whosonline (3.0.0) ? | mod_stats (3.0.0) ? | mod_wrapper (3.0.0) ? | mod_articles_latest (3.0.0) ? | mod_articles_news (3.0.0) ? | mod_finder (3.0.0) ? | mod_related_items (3.0.0) ? |
3rd Party:: Hot Full Carousel (4.0.3) ? | Hot Maps (3.9.0) ? |

Modules :: Admin ::
Core :: mod_custom (3.0.0) ? | mod_menu (3.0.0) ? | mod_frontend (4.0.0) ? | mod_toolbar (3.0.0) ? | mod_title (3.0.0) ? | mod_loginsupport (4.0.0) ? | mod_sampledata (3.8.0) ? | mod_logged (3.0.0) ? | mod_feed (3.0.0) ? | mod_popular (3.0.0) ? | mod_multilangstatus (3.0.0) ? | mod_latest (3.0.0) ? | mod_quickicon (3.0.0) ? | mod_user (4.0.0) ? | mod_stats_admin (3.0.0) ? | mod_latestactions (3.9.0) ? | mod_submenu (3.0.0) ? | mod_login (3.0.0) ? | mod_post_installation_messages (4.0.0) ? | mod_privacy_dashboard (3.9.0) ? | mod_guidedtours (4.3.0) ? | mod_version (3.0.0) ? | mod_privacy_status (4.0.0) ? | mod_messages (4.0.0) ? |
3rd Party::

Libraries ::
Core ::
3rd Party::

Plugins ::
Core :: plg_workflow_publishing (4.0.0) ? | plg_workflow_featuring (4.0.0) ? | plg_workflow_notification (4.0.0) ? | plg_installer_override (4.0.0) ? | plg_installer_packageinstaller (3.6.0) ? | plg_installer_folderinstaller (3.6.0) ? | plg_installer_urlinstaller (3.6.0) ? | plg_installer_webinstaller (4.0.0) ? | plg_fields_url (3.7.0) ? | plg_fields_radio (3.7.0) ? | plg_fields_checkboxes (3.7.0) ? | plg_fields_editor (3.7.0) ? | plg_fields_list (3.7.0) ? | plg_fields_subform (4.0.0) ? | plg_fields_media (3.7.0) ? | plg_fields_text (3.7.0) ? | plg_fields_integer (3.7.0) ? | plg_fields_usergrouplist (3.7.0) ? | plg_fields_calendar (3.7.0) ? | plg_fields_user (3.7.0) ? | plg_fields_sql (3.7.0) ? | plg_fields_imagelist (3.7.0) ? | plg_fields_textarea (3.7.0) ? | plg_fields_color (3.7.0) ? | plg_extension_joomla (3.0.0) ? | plg_extension_namespacemap (4.0.0) ? | plg_extension_finder (4.0.0) ? | plg_webservices_tags (4.0.0) ? | plg_webservices_plugins (4.0.0) ? | plg_webservices_installer (4.0.0) ? | plg_webservices_menus (4.0.0) ? | plg_webservices_languages (4.0.0) ? | plg_webservices_redirect (4.0.0) ? | plg_webservices_banners (4.0.0) ? | plg_webservices_privacy (4.0.0) ? | plg_webservices_media (4.1.0) ? | plg_webservices_messages (4.0.0) ? | plg_webservices_content (4.0.0) ? | plg_webservices_users (4.0.0) ? | plg_webservices_newsfeeds (4.0.0) ? | plg_webservices_templates (4.0.0) ? | plg_webservices_modules (4.0.0) ? | plg_webservices_config (4.0.0) ? | plg_authentication_joomla (3.0.0) ? | plg_authentication_ldap (3.0.0) ? | plg_authentication_cookie (3.0.0) ? | plg_system_remember (3.0.0) ? | plg_system_accessibility (4.0.0) ? | plg_system_highlight (3.0.0) ? | plg_system_languagecode (3.0.0) ? | plg_system_fields (3.7.0) ? | plg_system_task_notification (4.1) ? | plg_system_redirect (3.0.0) ? | plg_system_languagefilter (3.0.0) ? | plg_system_cache (3.0.0) ? | plg_system_webauthn (4.0.0) ? | plg_system_jooa11y (4.2.0) ? | plg_system_stats (3.5.0) ? | plg_system_sessiongc (3.8.6) ? | plg_system_sef (3.0.0) ? | plg_system_logrotation (3.9.0) ? | plg_system_debug (3.0.0) ? | plg_system_log (3.0.0) ? | plg_system_updatenotification (3.5.0) ? | plg_system_shortcut (4.2.0) ? | plg_system_privacyconsent (3.9.0) ? | plg_system_skipto (4.0.0) ? | plg_system_logout (3.0.0) ? | plg_system_schedulerunner (4.1) ? | plg_system_actionlogs (3.9.0) ? | plg_system_guidedtours (4.3.0) ? | plg_system_httpheaders (4.0.0) ? | plg_behaviour_versionable (4.0.0) ? | plg_behaviour_taggable (4.0.0) ? | plg_api-authentication_token (4.0.0) ? | plg_api-authentication_basic (4.0.0) ? | plg_finder_tags (3.0.0) ? | plg_finder_content (3.0.0) ? | plg_finder_contacts (3.0.0) ? | plg_finder_newsfeeds (3.0.0) ? | plg_finder_categories (3.0.0) ? | plg_actionlog_joomla (3.9.0) ? | plg_quickicon_downloadkey (4.0.0) ? | plg_quickicon_joomlaupdate (3.0.0) ? | plg_quickicon_privacycheck (3.9.0) ? | plg_quickicon_phpversioncheck (3.7.0) ? | plg_quickicon_overridecheck (4.0.0) ? | plg_quickicon_extensionupdate (3.0.0) ? | plg_privacy_message (3.9.0) ? | plg_privacy_consents (3.9.0) ? | plg_privacy_content (3.9.0) ? | plg_privacy_actionlogs (3.9.0) ? | plg_privacy_user (3.9.0) ? | plg_media-action_crop (4.0.0) ? | plg_media-action_rotate (4.0.0) ? | plg_media-action_resize (4.0.0) ? | plg_task_site_status (4.1) ? | plg_task_requests (4.1) ? | plg_task_demo_tasks (4.1) ? | plg_task_check_files (4.1) ? | plg_filesystem_local (4.0.0) ? | plg_content_joomla (3.0.0) ? | plg_content_pagebreak (3.0.0) ? | plg_content_fields (3.7.0) ? | plg_content_emailcloak (3.0.0) ? | plg_content_vote (3.0.0) ? | plg_content_confirmconsent (3.9.0) ? | plg_content_finder (3.0.0) ? | plg_content_pagenavigation (3.0.0) ? | plg_content_loadmodule (3.0.0) ? | plg_sampledata_multilang (4.0.0) ? | plg_captcha_recaptcha (3.4.0) ? | plg_captcha_recaptcha_invisible (3.8) ? | plg_editors-xtd_pagebreak (3.0.0) ? | plg_editors-xtd_fields (3.7.0) ? | plg_editors-xtd_readmore (3.0.0) ? | plg_editors-xtd_image (3.0.0) ? | plg_editors-xtd_article (3.0.0) ? | plg_editors-xtd_module (3.5.0) ? | plg_editors-xtd_menu (3.7.0) ? | plg_user_joomla (3.0.0) ? | plg_user_token (3.9.0) ? | plg_user_contactcreator (3.0.0) ? | plg_user_terms (3.9.0) ? | plg_user_profile (3.0.0) ? | plg_multifactorauth_totp (3.2.0) ? | plg_multifactorauth_webauthn (4.2.0) ? | plg_multifactorauth_email (4.2.0) ? | plg_multifactorauth_fixed (4.2.0) ? | plg_multifactorauth_yubikey (3.2.0) ? |
3rd Party:: System - Sparky On Save (4.2.0) ? | PLG_QUICKICON_AKEEBABACKUP (9.6.0) ? | plg_editors_tinymce (5.10.7) ? | plg_editors_codemirror (5.65.12) ? | Content - Retina Images (4.2.0) ? | Content - Responsive Lightbox (4.2.0) ? | Content - Hot Maps (3.9.0) ? |

Templates :: Site :: explorer (1.0.0) ? | sparky_framework (4.2.0) ? | cassiopeia (1.0) ? |
Templates :: Admin :: atum (1.0) ? |

[gws]

The fact that all your folders seem to be 777 would suggest a hack? I would go to mysites.guru and use the audit system (1st one free), the sites owner is a real joomla geek.
If that is not for you do you have access to the server cpanel?

[billbach]

Full rights is likely leftover from me just trying to figure out this stuff and not knowing what I am doing. It is a Bitnami Linux VM, preinstalled. Two other sites on the same server are working fine, so I know the database is OK, but just not sure what could have happened to this one environment.

Not sure about "server cpanel", but I do have root access to the VM, so I expect that I can enable whatever I need to on it.

[gws]

Sorry my experience with bitnami left me suicidal. I'll leave this to people who know bitnami,good luck.

[billbach]

I opted to simply restore the entire VM from a backup snapshot prior to the issue occurring. I lost some work, but it is minimal compared to trying to figure this out.